Improved reciprocating propeller



MPETERS. PHoTo-LnHoGRAPHER. WASMNGTON- D C- UNITED STATES PATENT Carica..

MOSES DEPUY, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVED RECIPROCATING PROPELLER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MOSES DEPUY, of the city of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Means oi' Propelling Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description oi' my invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming partof this specification, and to the letters ot' reference marked thereon.

The nature ot' my invention consists in attaching two or more paddles to the outside of a vessel and imparting thereto a rectilinear reciprocatingmotion, and so hinged as that the face of the paddles, when propelling, will stand perpendicular] y, or nearly so, to the line ofprogresson, and when returning,preparatory to the second stroke, will swing back so as to present only the edge of each paddle, and overcome as far as practicable all resistance offered by the waterin theirbackward movement; also,

in so constructing and attaching the paddles and frame in which they move to the outsideofthe vessel andin such relation to each other as that the action ot' the paddles may be changed or reversed by properly-constructed mechanism, so as to vary the course of the vessel without regard to the motion of the engines or propelling power.

To enable others to understand and make my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction by reference to the accompanynying drawings, wherein- Figure l represents a side view ot' the stem ofa vessel, to which is attached an overhang?7 for supporting and carrying the framesin which the paddles work; also an edge view of the same. Fig. 2 represents a top view of the overhang, on which is shown the cams and levers used in reversing the motion of the paddles. Fig. 3 is a cross-section of the overhang, giving a front view ofone ofthe paddles and frame,

^ also showing the reversing mechanism. Fig.

4 represents one ofthe paddles and frame detached. Figs. 5 and 6 represent a top view of the same.

All the drawings are lettered, and similar letters denote corresponding parts in the several views.

I construct my improved propeller by attaching to the hull ot' a boat a projecting frame or overhang, A, for the purpose ot' supporting two or more pairs of slides or guides, B, running pa'rallel to the length ofthe vessel. Between each pair of these guides, and supported thereby, is a short frame, C, to which is hinged a paddle, D, by means ot` a long bolt, E, which allows it to swing forward or backward, as may be desired. The frames C, carrying the paddles D,'are given a reciprocating movement in the guides B by means of a connecting-rod, P, which passes through the hull of the vessel and is attached to the engine or other moving power in the usual manner.

It will be observed that the edges ofthe paddles D at that part through which the bolt E passes are widened or spread out like a fan, so that whichever way the paddle swings the cornersXof this enlargement will pass through andprojectabove the slotsLin thereciprocating frame. But in order to compel the paddles to maintain a vertical position when forcing the boat along', and at the same time allow them to swing back when recovering themselves for a repetition ot the stroke, attached to the frames to which the paddles are pivoted are two slidinglock-bars,0,so constructed and arranged as to crossvand close or open the slots L, as the case may require. To prevent thepaddles from assuming the wrong position, these lock-bars o are slid across the slots L in the frame C by turning the lever S on the rock-bar T seen on the top of overhang A, which causes the cams R to move either the lock-bars o across the slot L in front of the paddle, as shown at Fig. 6, or by reversing the lever S they arethrown behind, as represented at Fig. 5.

It will be seen that whichever way the lockhars O are set the widened part 4ot' the paddle D will, in its attempt to pass in that direction, strike against the lock-bar O, which holds it in a vertical position, while the other portion of the slot Lwill remain open, so as to admit the passage of the enlargement on the opposite side, which allows the paddle to swing in that direction only, when by reversing the position of thelever the lock-bars are changed, and with them the motion of the paddles, thus enabling the boat to be forced in either direction without regard to the act-ion ot' the engineer, as hereinbefore stated.

Having thus briefly described my invention, structed, arranged, and operating substan- What I claim istiaily in Jshe manner and for the purpose here- The employment and use of a swinging proin set forth. peiler attached to and operating directly on a MOSES DEP UY line, or nearly so, with the piston of the engine, without theintervention of a crank,) combined Witnesses: with a sliding frame Working in an overhang JOSIAH W. ELLS, attached to the outside of a vessel, when con- C. S. AMMOND. 

